Pros And Cons Of Juvenile Crimes

In the United States of America today when a person has been committed of a crime they are trialed through a system to conclude if they are guilty as well as determine their best fit punishment of due to the crime. From what most people know when an adult is put through this process they have the right to a quick and speedy trial with a jury to determine if they are guilty and they are given their punishment. However, within our system the process of punishment and sentencing is significantly different if the defendant of the crime is under the age of 18, if they are under 18 they are legally considered a child and are not put through the same system and punishment with which adult are. They are but through what we call a juvenile court system.

The criminal justice system has a branch for juvenile offenders. Established in the early twentieth century; it is the responsibility of this division to decide the fates of youthful offenders. This is administered by family court with support of social workers and family. With the increased number of youthful, violent offenders, many are being processed and sentenced as adults. Important issues such as culpability, severity of the crime, accountability, constitutional rights of the offenders and victims, and probability of rehabilitation,

There is much debate over whether or not juveniles should ever be tried as adults. Juveniles are defined as children under the age of 18. In the past, juveniles have been tried in a separate juvenile court because of their age. However, trying juveniles as adults for violent crimes is a trend that is on the rise. Age is supposed to be a deterrent for placing those under 18 on trial and giving them stiffer punishments that are often reserved for adults. Many debate whether or not juveniles really should have less severe punishments or if trying some juveniles as adults will lower juvenile crime rates.

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

Juvenile’s incarceration is becoming enormous number. Taxpayers are financing the bill as detention centers and correctional facility become overcrowded. In the beginning of the 21st century, juveniles became out control and a get-tough policy became in effect. The court system knows they need some structure and punishment for the crimes they may have committed, and look for alternatives that can assist them in becoming a better person in society. In this assignment it will discussed the historical and economical alternatives to incarcerating for juveniles. In addition, what alternatives for correctional facility are currently in place? Finally, what significant value or punishment by not taking the juvenile from his home or their community

Today, the juvenile system primary goals are crime reduction and rehabilitation. The juvenile officials must assess whether youthful offenders are likely to commit crimes in the future and whether they can benefit from interventions. If these kids cannot benefit, then they will most like end up a delinquent. In most states delinquency is defined as the commission of a criminal act by a child who was under the age of 18 at that time (Virginia Rules). Most states allow youth to remain under the supervision of the juvenile court until the age of 21, but this depends on the type of crime that was committed. There has been many times where a juvenile case was transferred to an adult criminal court. This would have to be done thru a process called a waiver. A waiver is when a judge waives the protections that the juvenile court provides (Larry J. Siegel). Cases that

In forty-one states the maximum age of a juvenile before being charged as an adult is 17, while it is 16 in 7 states and 15 in two states. However, these numbers are not concrete, as youths

According to, Kathleen Michon, J.D., in most states, a juvenile wrongdoer must be 16 or older to be available, so they could be tried as adults. As said before, there are a number of states that will try minors as young as 13 for adult time in prison because of the type of crime they have committed. Such as homicide, the adolescent is accused of an especially serious offense, the juvenile has an extensive immature record, or the past rehabilitation efforts for the juvenile have been unsuccessful. (Kathleen, 2017) Juveniles will take advantage of their age just to get away with crimes that would make them serve a lot of time in jail if they were older.

Constitutional guidelines: While the Constitution does not specifically mention crimes by juveniles, In re Gault (1967), via the Supreme Court allows for fairness to juveniles within the court system as they are given the same inalienable rights by God as everyone has and they have to

The supreme court considers the question when the child is convicted for something not involving murder. The answer is generally 18, at least for the United states and the rest of the world. Today, 41 states and the District of Columbus decided that a sixteen year old who commits a crime will go through the juvenile system. In the other nine states the criminal justice system treats the sixteen year old as an adult.

Imagine sitting in a courtroom, hoping the the judge will not give a harsh sentence. Unfortunately, that’s the case for many juveniles, some as young as 13! A juvenile is subject to a more severe sentence with the limited sentencing available. It is estimated that 250,000 youth are prosecuted as adults, each year. This number should change, as juveniles are not adults, both mentally and physically. Juveniles need an environment surrounded with guiding adults, education and the resources to help them. A juvenile is not an adult, and should not be tried as one.

In many cases judges or prosecutors can use waivers to have juveniles tried as adults, depending upon the nature of the crime committed. The states Kansas and Vermont allow for individuals as young as ten to be tried as an adult, while New Mexico set their minimum age at fifteen, says Marcovitz. At present, there is no minimum age set for juveniles in twenty-two states. These states leave the decision to the discretion of judges and prosecutors.

Arkansas, Kansas, and Washington charge any minor that has committed a serious crime, to be charged as adults. CO Criminal attorneys explain that “When it comes to deciding which court system the juvenile should go to, they examine the following: Is the child close to reaching adulthood, has the juvenile ever been convicted of crime in the past, and if rehabilitation was successful”. There has been numberless cases of under age children committing serious crimes that multiple states are now trying to consider lowering the age for being a juvenile and possibly have the same charges an adult would. All states should consider changing the ages down to at least 13 years old because that is an appropriate age where the children already recognize the consequences for their

As more minors are committing violent crimes, the question of whether they should be tried as adults has arisen. Children as young as 13 or 14 are committing violent crimes such as murder, rape, and armed robbery. Some of these children are being tried as adults while others are being tried as juveniles and receiving milder punishments. A juvenile offender may receive a few years in a juvenile detention facility and possibly probation following his release at age eighteen. An adult committing the same violent crime will receive a much harsher penalty, often years in jail, possibly a life sentence, with little or no chance of parole. The only difference between the two offenders is the age at which they committed the crime. Juveniles over

In Miller v. Alabama (2012), the United States Supreme Court determined that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional to juvenile offenders. This decision is agreeable upon because adolescents do not receive the opportunity to reform themselves. As the Court suggests, life in prison violates the Eighth Amendment, which accounts for a ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, juveniles still must be held accountable for their actions and should be sentenced to a fair verdict according to their crime, whether they are an adult or not.